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i had my 635csi for about 3years now. when i bought it it was from an old fellow that had it parked for the last 5 years. after i bought it, i had the car serviced for a quick check. everything was fine till now when i've started to have some problems with the gearbox. the local garage doesnt have too much knowledge about this sort of car and the main dealer is too expensive. and what i need to know is what type of gearbox oil it needs and how much gearbox oil it takes to replace the old one. thank you guys

i had my 635csi for about 3years now. when i bought it it was from an old fellow that had it parked for the last 5 years. after i bought it, i had the car serviced for a quick check. everything was fine till now when i've started to have some problems with the gearbox. the local garage doesnt have too much knowledge about this sort of car and the main dealer is too expensive. and what i need to know is what type of gearbox oil it needs and how much gearbox oil it takes to replace the old one. thank you guys

Are you talking about a manual 5-speed transmission? BMW recommends (for 1984 models) an SAE 80, GL-4 rated non hypoid gear oil. In colder climates ATF can be added. I use Royal Purple Synchromax in my 2000 323i 5-speed. Here's an excerpt from the E46 WIKI; Manual Trans Maintainance section: impee.co.uk has an excellent tutorial on changing manual transmission fluid here. Tim330i at diymybmw.com also has one here. For the M3, M3.MADRUSSIAN.NET has this.

Many suggest Redline MTL or D4 ATF in the manual transmission. Some recommend sticking with BMW MTF-LT-2 **Ok to substitute Pentosin 1028AMZ0632 MTF2 (75W-80 GL-4 in 1 liter containers for $18.50 at pelicanparts.com) in place of Lifetime Oil MTF-LT-2(BMW part #: 83-22-0-309-031 5 liter container for $128) Pentosin is the OEM supplier for this fluid.** E46 AWD models' transfer cases use the same fluid type as the transmission.

Castrol VMX80 is also 75W80 GL-4, and since BMW fluids are often rebranded Castrol, there is speculation that it's the same. Unconfirmed as of yet.
ATF

Funny i thought i did send a reply to you. My car is a 1984 auto 4 speed 635 csi. I didnt have much knowledge about this car when i bought it. And the owner hasnt told me much about it either. The car hasnt been moved for 5 long years. then i bought it, and a quick service : engine and oil filter change . brakes serviced, small bits and bobs. I took the car for a long drive from England to Italy ...the journey is about 3000-4000 milles. the car drives nice , amazing, i liked it . After i came back to england...a few months later the gear box stoped working all of a sudden , all i had left working was just the reverse. i had it replaced. and the original one sits now in my back yard. the second hand gear box i have now it drove orite for a few months when it started to trow out the ATF trough the top of oil stick. it started to lose power cos i lost half of the ATF. .something its doggy! i have no idea wots going on!!! for any more info fell free to ask. in abit !

Funny i thought i did send a reply to you. My car is an 1984 auto 4 speed 635 csi. I didnt have much knowledge about this car when i bought it. And the owner hasnt told me much about it either. The car hasnt been moved for a long 5 years. then i bought it, and a quick service : engine and oil filter change . brakes serviced, small bits and bobs. I took the car for a long drive from England to Italy ...the jorney its about 3000-4000 milles. the car drives nice , amazing, i liked it . After i came back to england...a few months later the gear box stoped working all of a sudden , all i had left working was just the reverse. i had it replaced. and the original one sits now in my back yard. the second hand gear box i have now it drove orite for a few months when it started to trough the fluid out trough the top od oil stick. it started to lose power cos i lost half of the ATF. .something its doggy! i have no idea wots going on!!! for any more info fell free to ask. in abit !

I would be looking at why both failed. There may be some common element that caused each failure. Heat is a known enemy of automatic transmissions. I'd be looking into the condition of the transmission cooler (which is in the radiator), the trans cooler lines, etc. I had to replace my trans cooler lines because one developed a pinhole leak, your may possibly have an obstruction. You may also want to look at and evaluate the efficiency of your entire cooling system too. A good trans shop may help you determine why both failed. Maximum cooling system efficiency is very important for these cars. Do a search for "4HP22" automatic transmission and you'll find lots of useful information. Good luck.

very, very interesting . it answers a lot of my questions, and confirms a lot of assumptions . The info about 635csi gearboxes are hard to get . its a nice feeling when other Bmw enthusiasts are sharing info once again thx mate. as soon i have some free time and get the gearboxes repaired i will let you know how igt went. hopefully will be a nice story with pics too! in abit

very, very interesting . it answers a lot of my questions, and confirms a lot of assumptions . The info about 635csi gearboxes are hard to get . its a nice feeling when other Bmw enthusiasts are sharing info once again thx mate. as soon i have some free time and get the gearboxes repaired i will let you know how igt went. hopefully will be a nice story with pics too! in abit